topic Re: Score isn’t moving much in Rebuilding Your Credit

Score isn’t moving much

JLL2104 — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:13:32 GMT

First of all, been reading messages here a couple weeks and your success stories so I joined. Everyone seems so nice! Here goes:
I started rebuilding this time last year. Started around 550 now at 650 (not complaining) here are a couple things I’ve done:
Got all the easy cards I could (Avant, credit one, premier, indigo, secured Citi)
Signed up with LexingtonLaw
Recently got a Cap1 Prem with 3k CL
Recently got Amex Green
My average age is 2.5
No collections
Nothing late
1% credit card balances on about 5k
I do have 100,000 in school loans. They are deferred so show current but I’m not paying on them
3 negative accounts but all closed with $0 balances.
I really want to get in the 700’s. Progress was steady at first but seems to have really slowed down. I want your success stories! Please give me advise

Re: Score isn’t moving much

simplegirl — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:19:22 GMT

First if you have no negatives why are you with Lexington Law? They are a complete waste of money. Second list out your cards limits and balances plus the agency your collection accounts are with. Thirdly welcome to the forum!

Re: Score isn’t moving much

JLL2104 — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:22:42 GMT

Thank you for the warm welcome. LexingtonLaw actually wiped out a 1200 collection for me. What are considered negatives?

Re: Score isn’t moving much

JLL2104 — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:29:31 GMT

Suntrust (student loan) 100k opened in 2006. Shows current
Cap 1 - 3k limit no balance
One main loan - 8500 balance good standing
First national- 500 limit no balance
Premier- 700 limit no balance
Indigo - 300 limit no balance
Avant - 300 limit no balance
Citi secured - 200 limit no balance (graduates next month)
Credit one - 600 limit no balance
Amex Green - no balance
4 inquiries across the board

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Aspireto850 — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:33:05 GMT

@JLL2014,

Great progress. I would suggest you try to work with the creditors or CA in those 3 negative account to see if they will delete them since they are paid. Do you know when they are scheduled to fall off your report? If by chance it’s 6 months or less you could ask for early exclusion from the CB’s.

I would also look at your credit mix to make sure you’ve optimized it. Your credit report usually shows the credit mix and how it’s being viewed.

Good luck

Re: Score isn’t moving much

JLL2104 — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:44:45 GMT

Where/ how do I get an official credit report? I didn’t know I could negotiate. How do I tell when they fall off? Thank you so much for the reply

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2019 02:56:11 GMT

I personally have more success with keeping small balances on 2-3 cards than letting everything report zero. I got into the 700s partially by doing that.

But also I think having more available credit would help too. Doesn’t seem like you have a ton since so many cards are low limits. Amazon, Wayfair and Pottery Barn were early 5k limit cards for me.

Anything negative you can get off will help but you should try reporting tiny balances on 2 cards and see what happens.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

JLL2104 — Fri, 10 May 2019 03:12:01 GMT

Thank you so much! Does amazon or wayfair prequalify?
Should I try desperately to keep inquiries down? I’ve done pretty good so far I think (4)

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2019 03:57:42 GMT

You can do the shopping cart trick with Wayfair and PB. 4 isn’t a lot. If you aren’t working on a specific imminent goal like mortgage qualification, I’d suggest doing a few more cards all at once so the inquiries fall off together.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Aspireto850 — Fri, 10 May 2019 04:37:49 GMT

@JLL2014,

You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com to a free report(s) from the 3 major bureaus but only once a year and it will have the date those tradelines are scheduled to fall off. After that I would suggest you get a monthly subscription to myFICO.com ($40) and you get alerts from all bureaus anytime there is a change to your report or score and you get a monthly updated credit report from all CB’s.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

simplegirl — Fri, 10 May 2019 12:06:40 GMT

Who are your Collections with? Amazon now has a secured card and make sure your not aping for fun meaning go for cards you actually want and will use rather than applying because you know you will get approved.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

calyx — Fri, 10 May 2019 13:30:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You can do the shopping cart trick with Wayfair and PB. 4 isn’t a lot. If you aren’t working on a specific imminent goal like mortgage qualification, I’d suggest doing a few more cards all at once so the inquiries fall off together.

SCT no longer works - you will get hard pulls for your applications.

You have plenty of revolvers.
What you need is TIME.

If you want to continue to rebuild with new cards, I would try to, once every 6 months or so, grab a card from a non-predatory lender/one of the big banks. Disco, AMEX, Citi, Chase, USBank, Credit Unions, etc. Don't grab cards just to have them, find ones that work with your spend to maximize your cashback/points/benefits. Stay away from anything that requires annual fees unless you'll make money back on the card - more than the AF charges. As you build up your portfolio of better banking accounts, you can drop the lower tier cards.

Store cards are pointless unless you need them for the discounts, so don't waste HPs, time, or energy on them.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

BallBounces — Fri, 10 May 2019 13:56:11 GMT

Adress the old collections if possible.
Do NOT add any store cards.
Let only one revolver report, <9%
Give it time.

You are in good shape for continued improvement. Do NOT add any store cards.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2019 15:46:41 GMT

Well, personally, adding more cards with big limits gave me an excellent credit mix and utilization that never goes above 2%. It doesn’t matter if I never shop at PB or Wayfair, that’s 10k chilling as unused credit and adding to my AAoA.

I don't know why you’d want to sporadically open new accounts vs doing apps all at once so they fall off together/grow in age together. I did all my rebuilding apps together for precisely that reason. Now I only add new cards I need and use, but I don’t think that’s great advice for rebuilding.

Anyway, that’s worked for me and I’ve also experimented with balances and can say with confidence that I only hit the 700s when I let more cards tiny report balances.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2019 15:45:44 GMT

The advice I gave worked for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Re: Score isn’t moving much

simplegirl — Fri, 10 May 2019 16:13:58 GMT

Because everyone profile is different and what works for One may not work for another.

Re: Score isn’t moving much

KJinNC — Fri, 10 May 2019 17:31:35 GMT

I am new at building/rebuilding, so my comments should be taken as second opinion, not expert advice. I think you have a long-term issue and a short-term issue. The short-term issue is card balances. Everyone suggests the "all zero except one" (AZEO) method to pump up scores right before an application. I don't think it's necessary to maintain that state all the time, just for a couple of months before you know you want maximum scores.

The long-term issue is the negative items, which still matter even if paid. I don't think we are supposed to talk about credit repair companies here, but if a credit repair company hasn't removed those items in more than a year of service, I would ask why, and possibly end that service if you are paying them and no longer getting results. Your other options are pay for delete (though it sounds like they're already paid), and goodwill letter.

Good luck!

Re: Score isn’t moving much

BallBounces — Fri, 10 May 2019 17:58:55 GMT

I'll just say again, assuming the balances are generally "0", and thefrore not having an impact on UTL, then a bunch of extra store cards are of absolutely no benefit. This is the scenario presented by the OP.

If the concern is AAoA, and not wanting to close them, they hang around a long time after they are closed. In 7 years, AAoA will likely not be a concern for a healthy profile.

As always, YMMV. I tend to not recommend opening additional store cards with no practical utility. They give no discreet benefit beyond having one, when UTL and number of cards reporting is not a factor.

Most importantly, opening additional store cards will not help the OPs profile increase faster. It is a matter of time.